Pageant of the Masters offers 'The Big Picture'

Austin Paskerian of Newport Beach, left, and Emily Carmichall of Ladera Ranch pose with five other participants in the re-creation of Frederic S. Remington's 1889 painting "A Dash for the Timber" during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER

Pageant of the Masters

Audrey Hepburn once said, "Everything I learned I learned from the movies."

The folks at the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach are taking that statement to heart this summer. The theme for this year's pageant, which starts Sunday night, is "The Big Picture" – celebrating the history of motion pictures, as well as the ways in which art masterpieces have inspired or informed the movies.

It's also the 80th anniversary of the pageant, which began in 1933 as a parade of costumed characters marching through the sleepy beach town of Laguna. Except for the war years from 1942 through 1945, when the house was dark, the Festival of Arts has presented the pageant in Laguna Beach every summer since. The Irvine Bowl off Laguna Canyon Road has been its home since 1941.

For Diane Challis Davy, director of the pageant for 18 seasons, the annual presentation of tableaux vivants, or "living pictures," is a constant balancing act between tradition and innovation.

"I try very hard to make improvements to the show while still maintaining the conventions and traditions of tableaux vivants," said Challis Davy, who has been an employee of the pageant since 1980. "It doesn't get easier. I think it gets more challenging, but I think with experience, I'm not panicking as much. Hopefully with age comes experience and a lot less anxiety."

For those unfamiliar with the pageant (and haven't seen the parody on "Arrested Development"), it's quite unlike anything else out there. Every summer, a crew of about 50 staff members and more than 200 volunteers re-create works of art in life size. Some of them are well known, others are more obscure. The volunteers, wearing costumes, makeup and headpieces, pose in the artworks motionlessly for 90 seconds, as a narrator provides the story and a live orchestra performs.

"I keep coming back because every year it's a new set of faces, and it's always a challenge – painting, makeup and the whole gamut," said Christine Niermeijer, a makeup artist from Laguna Beach who has volunteered for the pageant for 10 years. "But not only that, it's a great team."

FROM SILVER SCREEN TO STAGE

Because this year's theme is the cinema, this latest version of the show is incorporating a lot more video, as well as other high-tech elements.

"It's one of the most ambitious shows we've done in terms of the use of special effects, video and technology that have to do with the filmmaking process and the history of film," said Dan Duling, scriptwriter for the pageant since 1981. "The coordination of sound and vision, video and theatrical magic together – it's a process that requires an enormous amount of anticipation and planning."

Challis Davy says she came up with the movie motif while she was in the bathtub. She laughs after that statement, because it's also a reference to Busby Berkeley, the legendary Hollywood choreographer and director known for his extravagant and brilliantly choreographed musical numbers, as showcased in the films "Gold Diggers of 1935," "For Me and My Gal," "42nd Street," "Varsity Show" and "Romance on the High Seas."

"He would come up with his best ideas in the bathtub," Challis Davy commented. "It's a good place to daydream. I am also a habitual daydreamer."

But it's not like Challis Davy and Duling come up with all the images and storylines and story threads themselves. A team of 100 volunteers also meets with the director and scriptwriter, and they discuss and suggest artworks to turn into tableaux vivants. Many of those pictures are chosen, too, Challis Davy said.

Some of the artists whose work will be re-created onstage will include Michelangelo, Jan Vermeer, Thomas Gainsborough, Frederic Remington, Norman Rockwell, Edward Hopper, Georges Seurat and Leonardo da Vinci.

The pageant will present Remington's "A Dash for the Timber," a colorful 1889 oil on canvas, and the tableau will feature seven cowboys (played by local teens) trying to escape those dreaded and aggressive Native Americans while on horseback.

The pageant will also bring to life a series of Gainsborough portraits that inspired Stanley Kubrick and his film "Barry Lyndon." And, of course, the performance will conclude with a time-honored tradition – "The Last Supper," a 1495-98 tempera on plaster mural by da Vinci.

The show will also feature tributes to great actors and filmmakers, including Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock and John Hughes.

The pageant's creative staff has mixed the tableaux approach with a scene from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986), where the main character, played by Matthew Broderick, strolls with his pals through the Art Institute of Chicago. Yes, there will be movement on stage – a source of contention for traditionalists.

Austin Paskerian of Newport Beach, left, and Emily Carmichall of Ladera Ranch pose with five other participants in the re-creation of Frederic S. Remington's 1889 painting "A Dash for the Timber" during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
All made up and waiting on a bench to be placed in Frederic S. Remington's painting "A Dash for the Timber" during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach are cast members Austin Voss of Laguna Beach, left, Emily Carmichall of Ladera Ranch, Jaden Fogel of Newport Coast, Austin Paskerian of Newport Beach and Jill Kraus of Seal Beach. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Eleven-year-old Staciabella Roy of Huntington Beach has her makeup applied by makeup volunteer Kathleen Morea as she gets ready to be one of the seven riders in Frederic S. Remington's "A Dash for the Timber" during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Ian Ring of Laguna Beach hangs from a skyscraper clock as he portrays Harold Lloyd in the film clip "Safety Last" during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Reagan Foy, costume crafts & headpiece maker, shows off some of her work backstage during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Joseph Ramondetta gets setup backstage to portray Buster Keaton in "The General" as guests watch during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. This is Ramondetta's first time participating in the pageant. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Seven children prepare while backstage to portray the riders in Frederic S. Remington's "A Dash for the Timber" during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. Cast members for the painting are Jill Kraus, left, Austin Paskerian, Emily Carmichall, Austin Voss, Jaden Fogel, Andrew Cook and Staciabella Roy. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Joseph Ramondetta of Irvine, portraying Buster Keaton, sits backstage where he receives his makeup before being placed in the film clip "The General" during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Photographer Rob Gage, left, stands next to his photos in which pageant volunteers portray Hollywood legends. With Gage are Pageant scene painter David Rymar (as Stan Laurel) and Festival of Arts ceramic artist Mike Tauber (as Oliver Hardy) at preview night at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Joseph Ramondetta of Irvine portrays Buster Keaton on stage in the film clip "The General" during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. This is Ramondetta's first time participating in the pageant. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Thirteen-year-old Jaden Fogel of Newport Coast has the finishing touches applied to his makeup and costume backstage before being placed in Frederic S. Remington's "A Dash for the Timber" during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Frederic S. Remington's 1889 painting "A Dash for the Timber" recreated with seven children in makeup and costume is seen on stage during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. The cast members include Jill Kraus, left, Austin Paskerian, Emily Carmichall, Austin Voss, Jaden Fogel, Andrew Cook and Staciabella Roy. Ysabel Baker, who is normally a cast member for this painting, was sick and was not able to participate on media night. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Makena Guthrie and Katcha Minot stay placed in a re-creation of Jan Vermeer's painting "The Love Letter" as the cast members of the painting "A Dash for the Timber" walk by on the way to their own painting backstage during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Cast members Makena Guthrie of Laguna Beach, left, and Katcha Minot of Aliso Viejo model on stage for a re-creation of Jan Vermeer's painting "The Love Letter" during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Two of Jan Vermeer's paintings, "The Allegory of Painting," (1665-67) left, and "The Love Letter" (1669) are re-created on stage during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. Cast members include Emlyn Griffiths of Laguna Beach, left, Christoper Martin of Lake Forest, Makena Guthrie of Laguna Beach and Katcha Minot of Aliso Viejo. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Twelve-year-old Austin Voss of Laguna Beach has his makeup applied with the help of a makeup dummy head. He'll be placed in Frederic S. Remington's painting "A Dash for the Timber" during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Ian Ring of Laguna Beach gets ready backstage to be placed hanging from a skyscraper clock as he portrays Harold Lloyd in the film clip "Safety Last" during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Guests at preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters watch backstage as Ian Ring of Laguna Beach is placed in the film clip "Safety Last" in which he portrays Harold Lloyd in the 1923 black-and-white film. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Hearst Castle Pool with cast members Caitlin Birdsell of Tustin, left, Katie Gladding of Orange, her husband Jason Gladding and Cheril Spalo of Westminster re-creating on stage the marble sculptures around the pool during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Joseph Ramondetta of Irvine, portraying Buster Keaton, appears to pop out of the film clip "The General" as the painting is rotated on stage during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. This is Ramondetta's first time participating in the pageant. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER
Joseph Ramondetta gets set up backstage to portray Buster Keaton in "The General" during preview night for the 2013 Pageant of the Masters at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach. This is Ramondetta's first time participating in the pageant. STEVEN GEORGES, FOR THE REGISTER

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